Sanath Fernando reappointed to IFRS SME Implementation Group

7 May 2015 02:32 am

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) Member and Ernst & Young Partner Sanath Fernando was recently reappointed to serve a second term in the Implementation Group of the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs). 
The appointment was made by the IFRS Foundation, the international body responsible for the adoption of IFRSs and the oversight of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). 
The IFRS Foundation selected the members of the group on the basis of their knowledge and experience in the financial reporting of SMEs. Representatives of the European Commission and European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) will participate in the work of the group as observers.
Fernando is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants of UK and a member of the CMA Sri Lanka and possesses experience in implementing International Financial Reporting Standards based on which Sri Lanka Accounting Standards are developed.
He also serves as the Chairman of the Ernst & Young’s Asia Pacific Accounting Subject Matter Group on IFRS for SMEsand is also a member of the Financial Reporting Standards Implementation and Interpretation Committee of CA Sri Lanka. Fernando also currently serves as the chairman of the Sri Lanka Financial Reporting Standards Education Committee.
The mission of the IFRS SME Implementation Group is to support the international adoption of the IFRS for SMEs and to monitor its implementation. The group has two main responsibilities: to develop non-mandatory guidance for implementing the IFRS for SMEs in the form of questions and answers that will be made publicly available on a timely basis and to make recommendations to the IASB if and when needed regarding amendments to the IFRS for SMEs. 
The IFRS for SMEs is a self-contained standard of fewer pages than the full IFRS, designed to meet the needs and capabilities of SME entities, which are estimated to account for over 95 percent of all companies around the world. The local version of IFRS for SME, which is called Sri Lanka Accounting Standard for SME (SLFRS for SMEs), became operative for financial statements covering periods beginning on or after  
January 1, 2012.